Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell

2008 / 71 mins / US

WILD COMBINATION is director Matt Wolf’s visually absorbing portrait of the seminal avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist, and disco producer Arthur Russell. Before his untimely death from AIDS in 1992, Arthur prolifically created music that spanned both pop and the transcendent possibilities of abstract art. Now, over fifteen years since his passing, Arthur's work is finally finding its audience. Wolf incorporates rare archival footage and commentary from Arthur's family, friends, and closest collaborators—including Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg—to tell this poignant and important story.

Crew

Director: Matt Wolf
Producers: Ben Howe, Kyle Martin, Matt Wolf

Awards

Berlin International Film Festival (Panorama) -
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece
Sarasota Film Festival, Florida
Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independente, Argentina
PDX Fest, Portland - OPENING NIGHT
The Kitchen, New York - WEEKEND TRIBUTE
InsideOut, Toronto
Newport Film Festival, Rhode Island
AFI Silverdocs, Washington D.C.
Sydney Film Festival, Australia
Frameline, San Francisco
Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Museum of Contemporary Art Miami, Florida
Maine Film Festival, Maine
Outfest, Los Angeles - WINNER: ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
Era New Horizons, Wroclaw, Poland
Gaze Film Festival, Dublin - WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY
Melbourne Film Festival, Australia
New Zealand Film Festivals, Aukland + Wellington
San Francisco Film Society, Film + Club
Vancouver Film Festival, Canada
Reykjavik Film Festival, Iceland
Pop Montreal, Canada
Athens Cine, Georgia
Rio Film Festival, Brazil
Oscillations Festival, Belfast
Gene Siskel Film Center - CHICAGO THEATRICAL
Music on Film Festival, Prague
Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, Washington
Dublin Electronic Arts Festival, Ireland
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Turkey
Kino Babylon Mitte, Berlin
In-Edit, Barcelona - WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY
International House, Philadelphia
Alamo Drafthouse, Austin
Boston Museum of Fine Art - BOSTON THEATRICAL
Leeds Film Festival, UK
Cleveland Cinematheque
Roxie Theater, San Francisco - SF THEATRICAL
Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Pauze Festival, Utrecht + Gent
CPH:Dox, Denmark
Stockholm Film Festival, Sweden
Oslo Film Festival, Norway
Starz Denver Film Festival, Colorado
ConClub, Rotterdam
Cinema Maldà, Barcelona
Cinema Lux, Lugano, Switzerland
La casa encendida, Madrid
Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Brighton Film Festival, UK
SMART Cinema - AMSTERDAM THEATRICAL
MoMA, New York - NEW YORK ENCORE
Clinton St. Theater, Portland - PORTLAND THEATRICAL
Cornell Cinema, Ithica
Rooftop Cinema, Melbourne
London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, UK
Ballroom Marfa, Texas
Urbis, Manchester, UK
Galway Film Festival, Ireland
Downtown Independent, Los Angeles - LA THEATRICAL
Maysles Cinema, New York
Helsinki Film Festival, Finland